If Today Was Your Last Day
by Irish Wildfire
Summary: When, thanks to the twins, Tamaki's life may be in danger, Haruhi's life grinds to a halt as well. Can she face up to feelings she isn't entirely sure she has, especially if this is the last chance she gets? Set after end of series. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

"Haruhi?" she heard a voice waft in from the hall. "Where are you?"

"In here Senpai!"

Hikaru and Kaoru sniggered from behind the couch as Tamaki pushed open the door to find the room pitch black. A couple frantic clicks told them that he had figured out the light switch was not working.

"Haruhi, where are you?"

"I'm on the couch!" Kaoru called out in a not-so-convincing imitation of their friend's voice. To be honest, he had been quite surprised that it had worked so far. "I can't see a thing! Can you help me Tamaki?"

"Of course Haruhi! I'll be right there! Daddy is coming!"

They heard him running towards them, and were just about to jump out and frighten him. Just one more step.

"Augh!"

They heard a loud crash, and ominous crack, and a soft thump. Then silence.

"Senpai?"


	2. Chapter 2

Haruhi jerked awake as she heard a loud clap of thunder. She looked around frantically before really seeing the bright yellow morning light that came shining in through her window. She shrugged it off with a bit of difficulty. Sure, Tamaki-Senpai had helped her overcome her fears a little, but she doubted she would ever fully get rid of them. Besides, how human could you be if you did not have any fears?

She glanced at her clock. Darn it! It was already eight-thirty! She was be late for school! Quickly, she pulled on her uniform, brushed her teeth, grabbed something random out of the refrigerator, and dashed out the door, leaving her dad still at the table eating his breakfast, looking quite confused.

Of all the days to be late! Tamaki had told them all to be there at seven for a meeting, and, well, he got so pouty when he was upset. It was not that it seriously upset her to see him like that, more like he was just far more annoying that way.

The bus ride was far too long for her liking, and she finally arrived at Ouran at nine.

When she finally made it to her classes, everyone was rather quiet. None of the usual jumble and shouting. Hikaru and Kaoru were gone too. Not that this was really a matter that called for concern. Being Hikaru and Kaoru, they were probably just skiving off somewhere.

But something was definitely wrong. All the girls looked positively heart-broken, and more than one of them sniffled their way through the day. She wanted to ask someone what was going on, but she got the feeling that, if she did, one of the girls was sure to break and start crying everywhere. She would just wait and ask the host club after school.

But when she reached music room #3 after the final bell, the door was locked.

She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Tamaki-Senpai's number. It rang five times, and all she got was voicemail. Weird. Senpai always picked up.

She tried both of the twins. No answer.

She dialed Kyoya's number, starting to actually feel concerned. One ring. If he did not pick up, what would she do? Two rings. She would go to the principal! That was it! Three rings. She turned away from the music room and started to head back down the hallway.

"Haruhi?"

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Kyoya-Senpai, where is everyone? And why did no one bother to tell me the Host Club was cancelled today?"

"I thought you knew."

"What?" Haruhi asked tentatively. His voice sounded a little shaken, urgent, almost scared. And this was Kyoya. Cool, calculated, always-calm Kyoya. What in the world could get him shaken up?

"We are at the hospital Haruhi. There was an accident. Are you at the Academy?"

He spoke so quickly that his words were like bullets out of a machine gun. She swallowed hard before answering. "Y-Yes."

"I will send a car to pick you up at the east entrance."

And with that, he hung up.

Haruhi stood frozen for a moment, her phone still pressed against her ear, before she realized that the East Entrance was on the exact opposite side of campus from where she was now. She broke into a run, millions of thoughts running through her mind. What had happened? Who was hurt? As much as she tried to calm herself, she could not shake the thought of just how scared Kyoya had sounded.


	3. Chapter 3

Sure enough, the car was waiting for her when she arrived at the east entrance. She was sure that the speeds the car reached while getting to the hospital were not legal, but for some reason, nobody stopped them. For some reason, this did not ease the horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Mori-Senpai and Honey were waiting for her next to the door. She did not really bother reading Mori's expression. His face was always stoic. It didn't really matter what was happening. Honey, on the other hand, ran up to her, looking close to tears, clutching his pink stuffed bunny as always.

"Oh Haru-chan!"

He buries his face in my uniform and she hugged him awkwardly, looking to Mori for help.

"Mitskuni, it will be all right," Mori said in his usual deep monotone.

Even he looks worried.

"Mori, what is going on?"

"Tamaki had an accident this morning," he muttered, hushing Honey-Senpai, who was blubbering into his jacket.

"More than usual you mean," Haruhi laughed nervously. Mori nodded solemnly. She swallowed hard.

"He has been asking for you Haru-chan," Honey said, wiping his eyes and sniffling.

She dropped her gaze to the ground. Mori pretended not to notice.

"Where is he?"

"This way Haruhi!"

Honey took her hand and dragged her along behind him. She forgot sometimes, but as he nearly pulled her arms off dragging her down the hallway, she realized, yet again, that he was way stronger than he looked.

After following Honey down several halls and up an elevator too many floors to count, they stopped outside a room on the top floor. The twins were sitting on a bench beside the door, and Kyoya was talking to the doctor, quite grave-faced. Honey ran up to the doctor, clutching usa-chan.

"How is Tama-chan doing? Is he all right?"

Mori pulled Honey aside. "Let them talk Mistkuni."

"But Takashi-"

"Just let them be."

Haruhi made her way over to the twins, eager to avoid Honey if he decided he was not going to listen to Mori. Both Hikaru and Kaoru sat perfectly still, staring at the floor.

"Hey guys."

Neither of them offer any response.

"What happened to Tamaki-Senpai? Mori told me he had an accident."

Kaoru buried his face in his hands, shoulders shaking. Hikaru closed his eyes, and bit his lip to stop it from trembling.

"If you have been here all day, you must be really worried about Senpai."

"It was our fault."

"What?"

"It was our fault," Hikaru murmured, his voice husky and hollow. Haruhi frowned. "What do you mean?"

"We were trying to play a prank on him," Kaoru sniffled.

"We were luring him into the music room to scare him."

"But he ran into one of the tables," Hikaru said quietly, his voice breaking. For a moment Haruhi stared at them, processing their words.

"A table?"

"Yes," Kaoru whispered, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. Hikaru curls up in a ball and buries his face in his arms.

"A table?" Haruhi asked again, a little annoyed. She should have known. They were always too dramatic for their own good. "You all are freaking out because Senpai fell over a table?"

"No Haruhi, you do not understand-"

"Haruhi, do you want to see him?"

She nodded, following Kyoya as he pushed open the door. She would have more than a few strong words for Senpai.

"The twins said he ran into a table is that true?"

Kyoya pushed aside a curtain that shielded the rest of the room from the curious gazes of passersby , and Haruhi's eyes grew wide.

"I am afraid so."


	4. Chapter 4

How could a table possibly do this much damage to a person.

Tamaki was out cold, which she was thankful for. Haruhi did not think she could bring herself to speak.

Most of him was hidden under the blankets, but what she could see was scratched and bruised to a severe degree. There were wires and tubes winding their way around him. Various industrial-strength bandages were plastered to almost every inch of his skin, and a large gauze pad was medical-taped to the side of his face. His eyes were closed, and he lay perfectly still. The whole situation was utterly frightening, but without all the bandages and tubes, he might have actually looked peaceful.

"Is he-"

"Yes. He is alive." Kyoya tapped a screen beside the bed with his ever-present pen. It was odd that she had not noticed the heart monitor before, as it was filling the room with rapid, erratic beeps. She did not know much about medical equipment, but she was fairly certain that the spikes on the screen should have been bigger.

"Must have been some table," Haruhi muttered, more to herself than to anyone else. Kyoya nodded.

"Unfortunately he ran into one of the new ones just donated by Hitachiin family."

Haruhi turned to Kyoya, filled with furious disbelief.

"Tamaki is in this state and you are upset about the table?!"

Kyoya did not meet her eyes. Haruhi clenched her jaw in fury and tried very hard not to lash out.

"Senpai, how could you? Tamaki has only ever tried to help, and now he is hurt, and you are concerned about the table?!"

Half-way into the sentence, she realized that she should stop talking, but she was so blindly angry at Kyoya that she could not.

"No Haruhi!" He was almost shouting. His fists clenched and she could see the muscles in his jaw working. Whenever Haruhi had seen him angry before, it had always been a creepy, deadly, quiet anger. The kind of silent fury, masked by a pleasant expression, that told you that crossing him was a death-wish. This was different. He looked defeated, and his voice was more distressed than anything else. He looked so, so, un-Kyoya-ish. "These new tables were inlaid with granite. When he knocked it over, it fell on top of him. If he had run into one of the tables made completely out of wood, he might not have been hurt!"

He gestured wildly, fighting to keep his voice down. Haruhi stared at him, For a moment, Kyoya just stared at her, his eyes wild behind his glasses. Haruhi swallowed, genuinely frightened. Slowly, Kyoya's eyes widened as he realised what he had done. He fell back into the chair beside the bed, his eyes screwed shut, his fingers pressed to his temple as if he had a terrible headache. For once, he looked...broken. Haruhi shifted uncomfortably.

""When he fell, he received significant head trauma." Haruhi wondered if the doctor had told him that, or whether he simply knew. She supposed that, seeing as his father owned a medical corporation, he had to have some knowledge of medical conditions.

"It was severe enough that it caused his brain to begin swelling. It is causing pressure to build inside his skull."

"Senpai, I do not understand," Haruhi said in a small voice. Kyoya sighed.

"If the swelling does not stop, his brain will cease to function."

Haruhi swallowed, trying hard not to think about what he was really saying. She turned her gaze to Tamaki, filled with silent horror. He looked so peaceful.

"He is not in any pain," Kyoya said, pinching his brow. "They have him on more than enough painkillers." He stood up again and straightened his jacket, his calm, collected tone returning to his voice. There was the Kyoya she knew.

"You know, you do not have to keep that up Senpai."

"I am afraid I do not know what you mean," Kyoya said quietly, adjusting his glasses.

Haruhi frowned, but did not persist. "Can they do anything to help him?"

"My father is speaking with the head surgeon at this very moment."

Kyoya headed for the door, far too collected. Haruhi laid a hand on his shoulder. He stopped, but did not turn around.

"Senpai, we all understand if you act less put together than usual (putting it mildly, she thought to herself). You and Tamaki-Senpai, you are best friends. Even your father would understand that," she said quietly.

She waited for him to respond, but he just glanced at her over his shoulder, smiling slightly.

"Do you not understand Fujiyoka?" He used her last name, as if he were chastising her, but his voice was not angry. It was sad. Lonely.

"It is expressly because everyone expects me to fall apart that I have to stay strong."

He gently shook free of her grasp and turned to face her.

"Thank you for your consideration Haruhi."

As Kyoya left the room, Haruhi did not know if it was pride, or true strength of will that allowed him to be so strong for everyone else. Whatever it was, she envied him of it. She did not know whether or not she would be able to do the same.


	5. Chapter 5

"Haruhi?"

She turned to see Tamaki, awake, staring at her from the bed. He looked all right, but a bit fuzzy. She took a deep breath and smiled best she could. "Hey Senpai."

"Where have you been all day? I was starting to worry," he murmured, his familiar beguiling smile touching his features. Haruhi could not help but roll her eyes. Still the same old Tamaki.

"Nobody bothered to tell me you had gotten yourself into the hospital," she muttered, severely annoyed. He looked like he might have laughed.

"Yes. Remind me to kill Hikaru and Kaoru when I get out of here?"

Haruhi's throat tightened at the word _kill, _but she just nodded and said, in what she hoped was something close to her normal, cheerful voice: "Will do Senpai."

They fell silent, and he studied her for a moment.

"Stop playing Haruhi."

"What?"

Tamaki shook his head in disbelief, leaning back into the pillows. "Haruhi, I have not been asleep all day. I know something's wrong with me."

"Well, Senpai, I've always known that there's something wrong with you," Haruhi laughed nervously.

"Haruhi."

It was one of the few times she had ever seen him completely serious. His eyes were a little colder, and her smile faded.

"Haruhi, I know that you've had to be strong all on your own before, but don't be now."

Haruhi blinked. "I'm not sure I know what you mean Senpai."

He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. The heart-monitor started beeping faster than before. Haruhi suddenly felt all cold. "Senpai?"

"Haruhi, I know what's wrong with me," he whispered, taking several deep breaths. Haruhi only let herself breathe again when the heart-monitor began to slow down. "They've already told me what could happen."

For a moment, she simply sat in silence. What could she say?

"When they couldn't find you, I was worried that maybe you wouldn't make it here in time, or that you wouldn't make it at all."

She gripped the arms of her chair, suddenly angry. "Senpai don't talk like that! You're just being dramatic!"

He opened his eyes and stared at her sadly. Her jaw set, and she shook her head firmly. "No Senpai! I refuse to believe-"

"The truth?"

Haruhi faltered mid-sentence.

She remembered when Renge first came to Academy: Tamaki's long rant about how a true host is able to summon tears on their own. Even then, his tears hadn't seemed all that real.

He looked so weak, so vulnerable. She could hear a faint wheeze whenever his chest rose, and again when it fell. Now, not only tears were in his eyes, but an unbearable fear as well.

Her jaw trembled, but she blinked her own tears back, determined to remain strong, which was becoming impossible. Every time she closed her eyes, it wasn't Tamaki, broken before her; it was her mother.


	6. Chapter 6

For a moment, she stared at him blindly. It had been years ago, but even now the memories were fresh in her mind. She closed her eyes tight in an effort to prevent her tears from spilling over, but one escaped. She jumped a little when she felt Tamaki's hand against her cheek. She opened her eyes, and stopped crying for sheer shock. Absentmindedly, she reached up and touched his hand, and the heart monitor stopped for an instant.

"Haruhi, I know what's going to happen to me. You don't have to pretend for my sake."

She could feel tears coming on again, but didn't make so much of an effort to hold them back anymore. "Senpai..."

He sighed uncomfortably and dropped his hand. Haruhi reached out and took hold of him, taking even herself by surprise. Tamaki showed no reaction but for a small change in his eyes. They were sickly before, but when she had taken his hand she saw something new, something...familiar. A bit of a spark. "Haruhi please."

She fought hard against the tears choking her, stinging her eyes. "Tamaki...I'm not going to accept that. You can't accept that this is... That you..." her voice faltered and broke. She bent double in her chair, tears streaming down her face. Tamaki gripped her hand tight, eyes swimming with his own sorrow.

"You've got to fight Tamaki!" she sobbed terribly, looking back up at him. "You can't just give up!"

What Tamaki did next surprised her, but even though she saw it coming, she offered no resistance.

For a moment he just looked at her, his eyes glistening. She thought she saw a tear glide down his nose. Then he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. For the longest time, she simply sat still, eyes wide open. It felt so wrong: like incest: she had known him for so long as a friend and nothing more. He was there for her. Always looking out for her. Like her father: he was undyingly annoying and an idiot at times, but he was there.

He was always there.


End file.
